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Forum
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RE: Alaska - The Future?
elh0146. I will try to come up with a non political answer to you on this. I tried to cover it on my web site but will continue working on it. Not easy for someone that hasn't lived in Alaska and seen the impact one Senator can have, on the politics and economy of the state when he brings home as much "pork" as did Uncle Ted. I suspect that all the federal services in Alaska are going to take a hit with his departure, including the National Parks and other camping facilities. USA Today, in their paper today, referred to him as one of the all time, two biggest spenders in US Senate history. Tied with Senator Byrd for the status.
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joe b.
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11/20/08 10:02am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Interesting places a pop-up can go
Tell he isn't married or his wife's car would be there instead. LOL At least the way it is at my (?) house.
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joe b.
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11/20/08 07:03am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Ouray Co. campgrounds
We stayed at the Ridgway SP also this summer but have stayed at others. The 4J+1 is in town, down by the river. Run by the Clark Family, nice but the sites are somewhat close together. We spent 6 weeks here one stay. Walking distance to the town pool and downtown.
Timber Ridge CG is on the north edge of town. Stayed here for about 3 weeks one stay. It too is on the river, large gravel lot type campground. Handy but not really within walking distance of town.
KOA is north of town a few miles and very popular, especially around the first of July time frame. Have only spent a night or two here. One of the better KOAs for longer stays IMHO.
Never stayed at the River Side on the north side of town. Formerly known as Polly's. Looks fine and normally has the best prices on fuel in the area.
On the hill side above Ouray on the east side is the Amplitheater CG, government type. Been up there numerous times but never stayed there. Very popular for a more rustic stay. No hookups that I am aware of but again, never stayed thered.
We liked Ouray so much that we ended up moving there in 1989 and stayed about 10 years.
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joe b.
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11/20/08 04:19am |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Ferry service between Skagway & Haines
Not any real problems that I saw. You may have to be able to back your rig into a parking spot on the ferry at times. Some of the ferry routes in the past have not gone directly from Skagway to Haines but first go to Juneau and then change boats to go to the other. Some seemed to run from Skagway to Haines and then to Juneau. Haven't seen next summer's schedule yet. The tides are noticeable but the loading docks in places are floating so only the ramp from the dock to the shore varies in angle. The ferry system hauls many truck trailers as this is how the towns along the way receive supplies, etc. So you will see tractors with 50+ ft. trailers loading and unloading.
I would make reservations if you have a particular day and time you wish to depart Skagway. Some forum members in the past have not have any problems just showing up and getting on board. Reservations become very important if a person is wanting a cabin for some of the longer segments of travel.
The first photo is of the loading dock and ramp in Skagway. The ferry is the Malaspinia. http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL621/2555455/5081974/204852200.jpg
The second photo shows the actual loading. Photo taken from the floating dock.
http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL621/2555455/5081974/64730632.jpg
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joe b.
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11/19/08 12:37pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Prices on TCs are way down, a bad sign?
Paul, I don't doubt your figures of 1 in 7 jobs being tied to the auto industry. But that leaves 6 of the 7 tied to other industries, and many of them are in trouble also. Industries such as steel, mining, airlines, shipping,timber, farming, trucking, railroads, etc. are not exactly flourishing either. Where does the "bailout" stop? I don't think any amount of bailout will solve the "Big 3" problems. The foreign auto makers that build in the US are not having any major problems, such as in Detroit. Why? Better management and more reasonable labor costs are the two IMHO. Unless major changes are made in the Big 3, any bailout will just postpone the same end result.
It is very difficult for a worker in Kansas or Alberta, making $10 to $15 an hour, to buy a vehicle that is being built by a person with a salary/benefit package of $71 an hour in Detroit. Does not compute in my mind. I would much rather see that bailout money spent on new energy projects, something that would help us all out in the future and provide new jobs, not just for a select few. Easy enough for me to say all that but I know something has to be done/happen for the US/Canadian auto industries but not sure just what.
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joe b.
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11/19/08 12:26pm |
Truck Campers
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Alaska - The Future?
With the recent election defeat, of the senior US Senator in Alaska, what are the perceived implications to the state of those that live there, have lived there or enjoy visiting Alaska? IMHO, seldom has one person, so dominated a state's politics as has Uncle Ted, has done in Alaska for the last 40 years or so. What, if any effect will this have on those of us that like to RV/camp in the state?
Since I still do some consulting work in Alaska, I am guessing that some of my clients are going to be asking questions. Hopefully they will be willing to "pay" for that advice. LOL
I have started working on this subject and have put my first rough draft on my web page, titled Alaska - The Future.
Some night when you can't get to sleep, this might be good reading for you. (half way through and out like a rock)
Thoughts, comments of others are encouraged and if we keep them non-political, perhaps the moderators will allow us to discuss this Alaska issue.
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joe b.
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11/19/08 09:26am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Cheyenne Mtn. SP Colo. - Campground Pics!
Looks like a great park. I will put it on my list. Lab, I looked at the CO State Parks site and couldn't tell whether the $6/day vehicle pass is required for both the MH and toad or just the toad. Do you know??
Yes, the daily fee is for each. When we checked into Ridgway SP this summer, I had already paid the camping fee through the reservation system but had the vehicle fee to pay upon entrance. However, we calculated it out and it was cheaper for us to buy 2 annual park passes instead. Covers all day fees at any of the state parks. Well spent money IMHO.
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joe b.
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11/19/08 04:19am |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Electronics and the far north
Thanks Ken, your answer makes more sense than mine did. LOL What's your thinking as to why Garmin, the world's largest maker of GPS units, shows the orbits the way they do? Just curious, not doubting.
Lonnie, on my last trip to Alaska in 2006, my wife flew to Colorado out of Anchorage leaving me on my own. Had to buy a new GPS with voice commands just to feel like the wife was still with me. LOL Found one that sounded somewhat like her voice. Just kept waiting for the GPS voice to say "I told you to turn right back at that crossroad."
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joe b.
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11/18/08 06:11am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Electronics and the far north
Hook, Dave or others,
Do any of you have experience with GPS topo maps in Alaska? Especially for the hand held units. I have one of the Delorme topo paper atlas books but would like to have something workable for off road hiking and fishing for navigation to find my truck afterwords. LOL I have some friends that live out on the East End Rd in Homer and have found some the roads (?) they live on don't show up on any of my GPS programs. Thinking perhaps a topo map might show their street/trail/path, etc. Does any company make preloaded SD chips with Alaska as a topo map, that could just be plugged into my Garmin? I can only find the CD version listed on the Garmin web site.
thanks,
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joe b.
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11/17/08 10:57am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Looking for Campground in Banff Area for Big Rigs
Here is Tunnel Mountain II in 2006. My camper is about 22 ft. in length. You can see the room remaining behind me and there was about the same space in front of us.
http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL621/2555455/12362216/181520867.jpg
We found the campground, while very large, to be so well laid out that you could only see a small portion of it at anytime. Absolutely beautiful scenery.
http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL621/2555455/12362216/181528804.jpg
At TM II I believe we only had electricity at our site but a nice easy to get to dump/sani station on the way out of the campground with available domestic water.
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joe b.
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11/17/08 09:06am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Use of laptops,cell phones, wifi hotspots?
Trusting? I am probably one of the least trusting people you may find, due to my law enforcement background and by general nature. However I am very comfortable doing wireless banking due to the encryption on both ends of the transaction.
I got my identify stolen this summer, not on the wireless use, but by someone stealing my mail out of my street side mail box. They got my cell phone bill and my Medicare quarterly, which gave them my SS number. Can't believe that the federal government uses our social security numbers as our identifiers. Anyway I got some new Blackberries charged to my cell phone acct. Took many phone calls to get it all straightened out. No one but me, seemed too concerned about it.LOL
Around this part of the world, south Florida, the main sources of stolen identify occur when a person hands over their credit card to a waiter to pay their restaurant bill, buys fuel at a "pay at the pump" station that someone has placed a scanner in the pump illegally, or by stolen mail or thrown away mail with information on it, or by writing a paper check and showing your ID with it which the clerk writes on the check. They then have your bank account number, your drivers license number and your home address.
I will take my chances with encrypted wireless any day, have to as I bank in Fairbanks Alaska and have for over 40 years. Have been using Internet services for as long as it have been available without problems. I have switched all my bills over to Internet delivery that I can, SS doesn't offer that service at this time.
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joe b.
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11/17/08 05:41am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Electronics and the far north
GPS does work in the far north due to the circumpolar routes of some of the satellites circling the earth. (in theory anyway)
However with that said, I have found that some of the GPS units I have used in the past have problems "interpreting" the info they receive from the satellites due to the convergence of the satellite routes as they cross over the poles. I had one that consistently showed me to be about 100 meters north of my actual position which made the GPS unit "think" I was off route and it didn't like it and tried to keep rerouting me.
One of the main satellites used for N/S is circling the earth over the equator and when it is on the far side of the earth from us, the resulting small angles from the others are not what some units can handle. On my last trip north, 2006, I was using a Garmin 2720 GPS and it seemed to handle it much better. With Streets and Trips running on my laptop, the 2004 GPS dongle, had major problems in the Valdez area locating my position. Another camper next to me was running the same version software of S & T but had purchased a different GPS dongle. His set up worked much more accurately so when I returned home, before the next trip north I purchased a new dongle with the SiRF chip set. It worked much better for me as it is much more sensitive.
Gist of all this verbiage is that the signal is there in the north country, but how the GPS unit handles it is a different story. The one GPS that was giving me all the problems in the north, worked fine by the time I got south of Whitehorse YT.
If you have Nexrad weather services for your GPS, it won't work in northern Alaska from what I understand due to the satellite that broadcast that signal isn't usable by the time it reaches that far north. (perhaps below the horizon?)
Nexrad is much more common in aircraft GPS units than car ones I would guess.
On Edit: Here is a Garmin web site showing the locations of the satellites making up the US GPS system. http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/ As can be seen, when the bird that crosses over Florida, heads for California and around the earth, twice a day is close and at a high angle to Alaska, so most any GPS unit will be generally accurate. However when it is on the far side of the earth, Alaska is receiving the GPS signal for latitude, from the bird over the equator, a much smaller angle to the horizon and much farther away. It takes a high quality GPS receiver to accurately triangulate that equatorial signal, which many boat and aircraft GPS units are able to do, as well as some of the top line auto units. Most electronic equipment comes in many different grades, i.e. stereo units, speaker systems, TVs, nav/com radios, etc. IMHO, GPS units are no different. My $1200 boat GPS does a much better job for me than does my first GPS I bought for my car at $150. If I am involved in an activity that can be life threating such as off shore boating or flying, I want the best navigation equipment that I can afford. But not in my RV as I can always pull over and ask for directions if need be. LOL
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joe b.
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11/17/08 05:21am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Driving to Alaska
Max, you will find a lot of information on the Alaska/Canada portion of this forum. There are hundreds, if not thousands of forum members that have made the trip.
For a person that is somewhat flexible to life's little up and downs, is still looking for a little adventure in life, still has that child like quality to be wide eyed and amazed by seeing different things, it is hard to not have a great time on the trip to Alaska. It is not a difficult trip these days, now that the highway is paved. Just a series of 300 to 500 mile days (less for some and more for others) one after the other.
Some first or second timers, that have driven the highway will try to convince others that unless everyone does their trip just like they did their's, they will have a terrible time. Not true in my experiences. What you drive, has little to do with the pleasure the trip gives. The same with a tow, folks that tow have a great time and folks that don't tow have a great time.
The Alaska Highway is no longer a wilderness highway but is a good paved two lane highway through a beautiful wilderness. There will be a few miles of road construction in places, as the permafrost plays havoc with the roadbed. When you come to a rough section of highway or some under construction, just slow down. Drive at a speed appropriate to the road conditions and you shouldn't cause any major damage to your vehicle. IMHO
We are heading back north next summer if all goes as planned for our 12th round trip by RV, to/from Alaska. Have 3 more planned after that on my bucket list. LOL
I normally take about 10 driving days from south Florida to get to Fairbanks. With a day or two here and there, it works out to be about 2 weeks + or - for us. It is the trip of a lifetime, one that you can take over and over as you wish.
In addition to the books mentioned above, the Milepost and Churches, I also like Bell's Alaska Travel guide. Bell's and Church's are the ones I keep up front with me when I am driving. The Milepost I keep in the back for evening reading.
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joe b.
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11/16/08 07:44am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: LP Generator on Nat. Gas ?
As the MaineMntnMan said about the propane pressure it is normally about 8-14" WC (1/2 PSI) after it has been through a low pressure regulator, most natural gas lines will be lower pressure, about 6-8" WC, (1/4 to 1/2 PSI) off the meter) so natural gas will often need a larger diameter hose/pipe to handle the fuel needed by your engine. I have one tri fuel generator and in the process of converting another. Got the kit in yesterday from www.uscarb.com . Since we don't have natural gas in this area of Florida I will be running on propane most of the time that I need the generators for the house. If we had natural gas I would switch to that as soon as possible. Currently I keep about 150 gallons of propane on hand for any needed emergency use. US Carb has some tables on their web site to help choose a proper sized hose/pipe depending on the size of the engine on your generator. You may have an orifice or a load block set up to regulate the amount of gas available to your engine. If you have an orifice then will probably have to replace it, a load block will be adjustable.
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joe b.
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11/14/08 10:19am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Taveling with new partner
bluearc, first of all I see that your profile lists you as being in Alaska. Puts a different view on the issue leaving out of there in January. Even if you live in the Banana Belt of the Anchorage Bowl area, you will still have to drive through parts of the Interior of Alaska and Canada to get to the Lower 48. Are you and the other person seasoned cold weather travelers? And I mean cold weather as you could easily be hitting -40° or colder weather for a week or more of driving. Good chance it will be too cold to stay in the camper at night to sleep. You certainly won't be able to keep the running water/sewer working at those temps.
Now if you are going to be outside when the trip starts, then I say go for it. What is the worst that can happen? You both find out TC camping is not for the two of you. Best to find that out early in any relationship, friendship or long term. Remember, if it flys, floats or you can marry it, it is always cheaper in the long run to rent rather than to buy. LOL The best thing would be that you both would love the time together. If two people are not compatible, then the size of the rig is not going to matter all that much IMHO. Go for it.
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joe b.
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11/14/08 05:01am |
Truck Campers
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RE: First timer headed to Alaska in "09" (truck & camper)
Sounds like two of us are happy we don't travel together. LOL
I travel to Alaska and northern Canada to spend my time in those places, not at campgrounds along the way. If I want to spend time in Kansas or South Dakota, that I will do on a separate trip. I am an early riser and often times I am on the road by 6:30 AM. The best time to see wildlife IMHO. Some days I will have 300 miles in by the time I stop for lunch. Some folks like to sit around the campgrounds till 10 AM and then stop about 3 PM and spend the rest of the day doing whatever they enjoy, drinking, watching TV, reading, hiking, birding, fishing, etc. Last year another forum member made the same comment as above. She said she and her husband took 24 days to get to Alaska compared to the 10 driving days I normally take to get to Fairbanks from south Florida. My only comment to her was that those extra two weeks they took to get to Alaska, I had enjoyed being in Alaska, fishing, hiking, taking photos, visiting friends, and enjoying the north country. Different strokes for different folks.
If a person is making their one and only trip to Alaska, then I can see some shorter days but I am hoping to make at least a total of 15 round trips. The one for this summer will be the 12th round trip to/from Alaska by RV for us. (plus several more by car/pickup and small aircraft) We normally take one day off a week to "take care of business", i.e. laundry, shopping, propane, any vehicle maintenance needed, etc. The length of a driving day so much depends on a persons age, health, enjoyment of driving or not, and their reason for going to Alaska.
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joe b.
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11/12/08 12:37pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: First timer headed to Alaska in "09" (truck & camper)
I have a set of the cab shocks on my Lance Dodge combo and don't know that they do much but after what I paid for them, I better claim that they are wonderful. LOL
We are also heading back to Alaska this summer for our 12th round trip to/from Alaska by RV. Don't believe I would use any inflatable between the camper and the cab. Suspect you might not have any paint remaining on either by the time you get back. The Alaska Highway is no longer a wilderness highway but is a good two lane paved road through a beautiful wilderness. The trip to Alaska is not at all difficult, just a series of 300 to 500 miles days, one after the other. More of them than many RVes have ever strung together on one trip. There will be construction zones, slow down and the farther north you get, the permafrost will cause frost heaves in the pavement, slow down. Just drive at speeds appropriate to the road condition and you will be fine. Remember, the road is not moving,just your vehicle so any damage done is from hitting the rough spots too fast. (driver error, IMHO, not the road's fault) It is a great trip and a fun adventure.
I put some hardware cloth in behind my grill to protect the radiator/oil cooler for any road debris and to catch the larger bugs. We use 1/4 inch mesh which I buy at Home Depot or Lowes type stores. I leave it on the truck all the time.
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joe b.
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11/11/08 08:09pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Whale watching and Glacier tours
If you get to Valdez, try the Stan Stephens Two Glacier tour. Nice boat, good food and lots of sea life, plus good views of Columbia and Mears glaciers. We have done the same tour on our last 2 trips north, 2004 and 2006. The ones Hook mentioned are good also. Plus there is one that runs out of Juneau up toward Glacier Bay, Gustavus area, I believe.
Here is a photo taken from the tour to Mears glacier.
http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL621/2555455/12355267/181401090.jpg
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joe b.
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11/11/08 07:59pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Use of laptops,cell phones, wifi hotspots?
You will find free Internet service at all (?) public libraries in Canada, no matter how small the community. More and more campgrounds on the way up, close to towns, will have Internet. Some have WiFi in the park and others you may have to go to the office area. On our last trip to Alaska I paid my bills over the Internet, first in Valdez at the Bear Paw II campground and the next month at the Hi Country CG in Whitehorse. Have used the WiFi at the Rivers Edge in Fairbanks as well. They were down temporary the last trip so I drove down to Pecks Landing Lodge, parked in the parking lot and used the one there. In Skagway I stopped at a cyber café/coffee shop and connected. Don't remember ever going over 2 or 3 days without the ability to connect somehow. Those days were when we were boon docking or out in the woods at a government campground. Cell phones work only in the more urban areas of both northern Canada and Alaska. We also carry a prepaid phone card and use pay phones as needed. (if needed) If you need to use your cell for business, etc. just plan your stops to accommodate.
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joe b.
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11/11/08 10:42am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Milepost 2008 pages
I sent an email to the Milepost yesterday afternoon and today I received a reply back, saying they were mailing me a new copy from their Ft. Worth warehouse and I should have it in a week or so.
Good service, IMHO
You know sue, there may be something a little "odd ball" about all of us that enjoy the north country so much. LOL Robert Service was sure correct in his comment that once you live in the far north, it stays with you forever. For better or worse it is with you forever.
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joe b.
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11/11/08 08:20am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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